This invention relates to piercing electrical cable with an electrically grounding blade from which a ground line releases residual electrical current from high-power electrical lines in order to protect electrical workers from electrocution before proceeding with work such as line-splicing the electrical cable.
Currently, round spikes with ground wire attached are forced with various means into high-power electrical cable to release residual electrical current before electrical work is done on the cable. The spikes are handled manually with insulated gloves while being driven into and pulled out of electrical cables. This is dangerous, time-consuming, difficult and fatiguing.
There is no known mechanized means for ground-piercing electrical cable in a manner taught by this invention. The nearest known prior art relates not to mechanized cable grounding but to mechanized cutting of cable and other elongate objects.
Examples of known mechanized cutters which are most closely related but different from this mechanized electric-cable-grounding piercer are described in the following patent documents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,078, issued to Patton, et al. on Jan. 27, 1998, described a cutting and crimping tool that was hydraulically operated linearly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,158, issued to Casebolt, et al. on Jun. 30, 1992, described a portable cutting and shearing tool having a guillotine cutter operated hydraulically. U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,670, issued to Eberhardt, et al. on Nov. 12, 1991, described a rescue tool for cutting steering-wheel rods and other rods from people pinned down by them in accidents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,028, issued to Green on May 31, 1977, described yet another cable cutter that is fluid-pressure operated but different than some of the others, had unique opposing blade cutting. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,823,454, issued to Kirchner on Feb. 18, 1958, described another guillotine cable cutter with hydraulic operation.